Plantagenet Centennial Memorial

The Plantagenet Centennial Memorial stands in a small island of land where Main Street, Ottawa Street and Old Highway 17 converge in Plantagenet, Ontario.

ERECTED IN HONOUR OF
ST. PAUL'S PARISH OF PLANTAGENET
BY
THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE

ÉRIGÉ EN L'HONNEUR DE LA PAROISSE
ST-PAUL DE PLANTAGENET
PAR
LE COMITÉ DU CENTENAIRE

Lawrence ("Barney") Barnett Memorial

The Lawrence ("Barney") Barnett Memorial is west of Cumberland, Ontario, on the north side of Highway 174 opposite Quigley Hill Road.

IN MEMORY
OF
LAWRENCE ("BARNEY") BARNETT

THROUGH WHOSE EFFORTS
THIS SITE WAS DEVELOPED

HE SERVED
THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS ONT.
FROM 1928 - 1970

Orleans Aviation Disaster Memorial

The Orleans Aviation Disater Memorial stands in a quiet spot overlooking the Ottawa River in the northeast corner of the Residence St-Louis grounds, east of the corner of Roslyn Avenue and Hiawatha Park Road in Orleans, Ontario.

On May 15, 1956, two Avro CF-100 Canuck interceptor/fighter jets from 445 Squadron were deployed from their base at RCAF Station Uplands, in the South of Ottawa, to intercept and identify and unknown aircraft approaching Montreal. The air crews identified the unknown aircraft as an RCAF North Star flying from Resolute Bay to Dorval Airport.

Before returning to base the aircraft climbed to 33,000 feet to burn off excess fuel. One of the aircraft successfully returned to base. The other aircraft, due to causes that were never determined, with a descent speed of 680 miles per hour, crashed into the Villa St. Louis after 10:30 p.m.

The aircraft's fuel and on board armament exploded on impact. Eleven nuns died in the massive explosion and fire, along with a priest, a cook and the two men aboard the plane. Seventeen student nurses who would have been in residence at the time of the crash. Instead of returning to their convent that night they had decided to stay late at the Ottawa General Hospital on Bruyere Street to see a play.

On returning to the convent they found it in rubble. They spent the night treating survivors. Funeral services were held at the Notre Dame Basilica on May 19, 1956. The eleven nuns are buried in unmarked graves at Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa.

The aircraft depicted on the cross is a CF-101 Voodoo, not a CF-100 Canuck. On
the side of the aircraft is the crashed CF-100's registration number, 18367

The fifteen stones at the base of the memorial, representing the fifteen people
killed in the disaster, were taken from the ruins of the old convent.

REV. FATHER R.M. WARD
1913 -1956

ALINE LAPOINTE
1916 - 1956

F/O K.D. THOMAS
1936 - 1956

F/O W.L. SCHMIDT
1930 - 1956

SOEURS DE LA CHARITÉ D'OTTAWA

EN LEUR MAISON ÉTERNELLE...

S. ST-JUSTIN 1873
S. ST-LAURENT-JUSTINIEN 1884
S. STE-SOLANGE 1884
S. ST-FERRÉOL 1888
S. JEANNE-DE-LORRAINE 1897
S. CLAIRE-DU-CRUCIFIX 1905
S. MARTHE-DE-L'IMMACULÉE 1924
S. MATHIAS-DE-LA-CROIX 1928
S. PIERRE-AIMÉ 1930
S. ANDRÉ-BERNARD 1933
S. CLAIRE-DE-LA-CHARITÉ

...LE 15 MAI 1956

Those killed in the crash were:

Father Richard Ward, 42

Flying Officer Kenneth Thomas, 20

Flying Officer William Schmidt, 26

Miss Aline Lapointe, 40

Sister André-Bernard, 22

Sister Jacqueline Dube, 21

Sister Arrore Bussiere, 30

Sister Maria Berube, 58

Sister Marie-Berthe Lajeunesse, 31

Sister Eliane Simard, 27

Sister Valeda Lefebvre, 67

Sister Emilie Hurtubise, 77

Sister Lumena Genest, 71

Sister Marguerite Guenette, 71

Sister Huguette Blais, 25

Saint Raphael's Ruins

Saint Raphael's Ruins stand to the south of Country Road 18, just west of Frog Hollow Road in St. Raphael's, Ontario, about 11.5 kilometres south of Alexandria, west of Country Road 34. The following quotations and song lyrics are from a brochure produced by Friends of the Ruins of St. Raphael's Inc.

"Across the Heart of Glengarry some miles inland from the St. Lawrence, the historic King's Road runs east and west along the highlands. This high road, named for King George III, is an inverted riverbed left behind by a decaying glacier. Its broad sloped back has felt aboriginal moccasins, borne the cannons of war, and witnessed the rise of a nation..."

"Au cœur de Glengarry, dans les terres à quelques miles du Saint-Laurent, l'historique chemin du Roi longe les highlands d'est en ouest. Cette route bombée nommée en l'honneur du roi George III, fut formée par le recul du glacier. Cette chaussée a vu passer les moccassins des autochtones et les cannons en plus d'avoir été témoin de l'essor d'une nation..."

"From the edge of old Quebec, crossing over the Military Road at Sandfield's Corners (the "Brown House) and through Indian Lands on the western boundary of Glengarry, the King's Road runs past one of the most imposing historic structures in Eastern Canada. Begun on the eve of Waterloo, the majestic walls fo the church of St. Raphael's overlook the green fields below.

"These silent walls proclaim the dignity of our ancestors. The harmony of the place is that of Highland people: gentle in peace, fearsome in battle.

"But why here? And what manner of men and women were these settlers of St. Raphael's?"


"Près de l'ancien Québec, croisant Military Road à Sanfield's Corners (« Brown House ») et passant par les terres indiennes sur la frontière ouest de Glengarry, le chemin du Roi défile devant une des structures historique le plus imposantes de l'Est du Canada. Amorcés la veille de la bataille de Waterloo, les murs majesteux de l'église de Saint-Raphaël surplombent les verts pàturages.

"Cette enceine silencieuse annonce la dignité de nos ancètres. L'harmonie de lieu reflète celle du peuple des Highlands : doux en temps de paix, redoutable au combat.

"Pourquoi ici? Et qui étaient ces colonisateurs de Saint-Raphaël?"

"They were the sons and daughters of the clans who were defeated with Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden, of the loyal Scots from the Mohawk Valley of New York, and of the Glengarry Fencibles of the Irish Rebellion of 1778 and of those who rallied to the fiery cross in the war of 1812.

"Regrettably, the great St. Raphael's Church burned in August 1970 leaving only the majestic walls remaining."


"Ils étaient des fils et des filles des clans défaits à Culloden avec Bonnie Prince Charlie, des Écossais loyaux de la vallée Mohawk de New York ainsi que des soldats Glengarry Fencibles lors de la rébellion irlandaise de 1798 et ceux qui se rassemblaient sous la croix de feus lors de la guerre 1812.

"En août 1970, un incendie détruisit la magnifique église de Saint-Raphaël ne laissant que les murs."

ST. RAPHAEL'S RUINS
LES RUINES DE L'ÉGLISE ST. RAPHAEL

The extraordinary ruins of this church recall the early history of
Roman Catholicism in Upper Canada. Begun in 1815,
St. Raphael's Church originally served as the centre of the
colony's largest and most important parish, and the
administrative headquarters for the first Roman Catholic bishop,
Alexander Macdonell. Situated in the heart of a historic
Highland settlement, the parish was the cradle of Catholocism in
Ontario. The ruins left standing after the fire of 1970 serve as a
testament to Bishop Macdonell's determined efforts to forward
the interests of his faith.

Ces ruines évoquent les premières pages de l'histoire du
catholocisme dans le Haut-Canada. Commencée en 1815,
l'imposante église St. Raphael, centre de la plus importante
paroisse de la colonie, accueillit le siège administratif du
premier évêque catholique de la province, Mgr Alexander
Macdonnell. Située au cœur de ces établissements historiques
écossais, la paroisse fut le berceau du catholicisme en Ontario.
En 1970, un incendie a réduit l'église à ces ruines, qui
continuent de témoigner des efforts soutenus de Mgr Macdonell
pour réandre la foi.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Government of Canada - Gouvernement du Canada
1999

LA MÉMORABLÉ ÉGLISE SAINT-RAPHAËL

CONSTRUITE EN 1821
DONT L'INTÉRIEUR FUT RAVAGÉ PAR LE FEU EN 1970
ET EN 1974 LES MURS CONSOLIDÉS
ET LE TERRAIN AMÉNAGÉ PAR

LA FONDATION DU PATRIMOINE ONTARIEN

AVEC LA COOPÉRATION DU
CANTON DE CHARLOTTENBURGH ET
DE LA PAROISSE SAINT-RAPHAËL

DÉCLARÉE MONUMENT HISTORIQUE POUR RAPPELER
LE PASSÉ AUX CITOYENS DE L'ONTARIO

HISTORIC ST. RAPHAEL'S CHURCH

BUILT IN 1821
GUTTED BY FIRE IN 1970
STABILIZED AND LANDSCAPED IN 1974 BY

THE ONTARIO HERITAGE FOUNDATION

WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF
THE TOWNSHIP OF CHARLOTTENBURGH AND
THE PARISH OF ST. RAPHAEL'S

DEDICATED AS A HISTORICAL LANDMARK FOR
THE BENEFIT OF THE CITIZENS OF ONTARIO

HERITAGE CONSERVATION EASEMENT SITE
SITE PATRIMONIAL PROTÉGÉ PAR UNE SERVITUDE

Le caractère historique
et l'intégrité de cette
propriété sont protégés
par un accord juridique
entre le propriétaire
et la Fondation
du patrimoine
ontarien

The heritage
character and
integrity of this property
are protected by a legal
agreement between
the owner and the
Ontario Heritage
Foundation

ONTARIO
HERITAGE
FOUNDATION

FONDATION DU
PATRIMOINE
ONTARIEN

A not-for-profit agency
of teh Government of Ontario
Un organisme à but non lucratif
relevant du gouvernement de l'Ontario

MENEELY'S WEST TROY, N.Y. 1859

THIS PLAQUE IS ERECTED
IN MEMORY OF

Rt. Rev. JOHN MACDONALD V.G.
1782-1879

BORN IN KNOYDART, SCOTLAND, AND
CAME TO CANADA IN 1786 WITH HIS PARENTS
JOHN ROY MACDONALD AND NANCY MACGILLIS
FATHER JOHN WAS ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD IN 1814
AND SERVED IN ST. RAPHAEL'S PARISH 1814-1832
PASTOR OF ST. JOHN'S PARISH, PERTH 1838-1871
AND AGAIN PASTOR OF ST. RAPHAEL'S 1838-1871
A RESOLUTE GENEALOGIST
FATHER JOHN DIED IN LANCASTER, AGE 96 YEARS
IN HIS 65th YEAR OF PRIESTLY SERVICE
BURIED WITHIN THESE HALLOWED WALLS

This memorial replaces the original destroyed by
the fire of August, 1970

The Friends of St. Raphael's Ruins Inc., 2016

FOR THEIR LOVE & DEDICATION
OF THIS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

DUNCAN A MACDONNELL 2007
JOAN P MACDONALD 2009
MARVYN MACDONALD 2012

"In 1994 a committee called the Friends of St. Raphael's Ruins was formed with the determination to stabilize the walls that were sorely in need of repair. By 2005, through matching heritage grants, fund raising and generous donations from loyal supporters, the committee met their goal after raising $1,400,000. With the stabilization complete the stately Ruins will remain for those who love the heritage and the beauty of the structure."


"Les Friends of the St. Raphael's Ruins, un comité formé en 1994, étaient déterminés à stabiliser ces murs qui avaient grand besoin de réparation. En 2005, grâce à des subventions, des collectes de fonds et de généreux dons de la part de loyaux partisans, le comité atteignit son objectif en amassant plus de 1 400 000 $. Une fois les murs stabilisés, les Ruines imposantes seront là pour les amoreux du patrimoine et de la beauté de l'architecture."

"At a ceremony on 15 September 1999 the ruins were officially designated a National Historic Site. A historical plaque reminds us that the original church remains 'the cradle of Catholicism in Ontario.'"


"Les Ruines furent officiellement désignées Lieu historique national lors d'une cérémonie tenue le 15 septembre 1999. Une plaque historique nous rapelle que l'église originale demeure « le berceau du catholicisme en Ontario »."

The Burning of St. Raphael's

An August night some years ago
Most of the Glen was sleeping;
The word went around, "Come fight the blaze,
St. Raphael's Church is burning."
Into the sky the flames shot forth
As all looked on astounded
And noiselessly the three bells fell
No death knell had been sounded.

They did their best to stop the fire
That started without warning;
With saddened hearts, they knew they'd failed
Come that grim August morning.
A century and a half it stood,
Renouned for age and beauty;
Its grand interior quickly lost
To fire that fearsome enemy.

No altar for His Holy cup,
No pews to seat His children;
Just cold and grey the walls of stone
Reach up to God's own Heaven.
No stained glass windows for His house
The once was proud and glorious
But still it stands, a monument
To those who came before us.

Written by Rob and Irene Taylor.
Performed by the Brigadoons.